Non-­‐fiction: Great Americans Great Americans
Meet Five Famous African Americans
These people have done great things.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey had her own television talk show and magazine. She uses much of the
money she earns to help others. Winfrey had a charity called the Angel Network. People
donated, or gave, money to the charity. The money was used to help people
throughout the world. She now is building her own television network, OWN.
Robert L. Curbeam Jr.
Robert L. Curbeam Jr. was an astronaut. When he was a boy, he wanted to design
rockets. He worked for NASA. That is the U.S. space agency. Curbeam has been on
three spaceflights. He has spent more than 900 hours in space!
Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni is a writer. She is the author of books and poems for children and adults.
She has won many awards for her poetry. In 2005, she wrote a children's book called
Rosa. It is about the life of Rosa Parks.
Savion Glover
Savion Glover is a tap dancer. He also creates new dances. Glover has won many
awards. He has been tap dancing since he was a boy. At the age of 10, he starred in The
Tap Dance Kid. The show was on a Broadway stage in New York City. Since then, Glover
has danced in television shows and in movies.
Rosa Parks Made History
Rosa Parks helped to change a law that was unfair to African American people. That law
said that African Americans had to sit in the back of city buses.
One day in 1955, Parks was riding on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The driver
told her to give her seat to a white person. She refused to move. To refuse means to
decide not to do something. Thousands of people heard this story and refused to ride
the city buses in Montgomery. One year later, the law was changed.
1
®
© 2014 ReadWorks , Inc. All rights reserved.
Article: Copyright © 2009 Weekly Reader Corporation. All rights reserved.
Weekly Reader is a registered trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation.
Used by permission.
Questions: Great Americans Name:
Date: ___________________
1. Who is Nikki Giovanni?
A a writer
B an astronaut
C a tap dancer
2. What does the author describe at the end of the passage?
A how Robert L. Curbeam Jr. became an astronaut
B how Rosa Parks made history
C Savion Glover’s tap dancing career
3. Oprah Winfrey cares about helping others. What evidence from the
passage supports this conclusion?
A Oprah Winfrey had her own television talk show and magazine.
B Oprah Winfrey is building her own television network, OWN.
C Oprah Winfrey uses much of the money she earns to help others.
4. Why are all of these people included in the passage?
A because they are artists
B because they are important
C because they changed laws
5. What is this passage mostly about?
A famous African Americans
B the life of Rosa Parks
C The Tap Dance Kid
1 ®
© 2014 ReadWorks , Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions: Great Americans 6. Read the following sentences: “At the age of 10, he starred in The Tap
Dance Kid. The show was on a Broadway stage in New York City.”
What does the word “starred” most nearly mean?
A noted
B performed
C jumped
7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.
Savion Glover is a talented tap dancer, _________ he has won many
awards.
A but
B also
C so
8. What did Rosa Parks refuse to give up?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
2 ®
© 2014 ReadWorks , Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions: Great Americans 9. How did Rosa Parks help change a law that was unfair to African
Americans?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
10. Explain why African American author Nikki Giovanni wrote a children’s
book called Rosa about Rosa Parks.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
3 ®
© 2014 ReadWorks , Inc. All rights reserved.
Teacher Guide & Answers: Great Americans Teacher Guide & Answers
Passage Reading Level: Lexile 560
1. Who is Nikki Giovanni?
A
B
C
a writer
an astronaut
a tap dancer
2. What does the author describe at the end of the passage?
A
B
C
how Robert L. Curbeam Jr. became an astronaut
how Rosa Parks made history
Savion Glover’s tap dancing career
3. Oprah Winfrey cares about helping others. What evidence from the passage supports this conclusion?
A
B
C
Oprah Winfrey had her own television talk show and magazine.
Oprah Winfrey is building her own television network, OWN.
Oprah Winfrey uses much of the money she earns to help others.
4. Why are all of these people included in the passage?
A
B
C
because they are artists
because they are important
because they changed laws
5. What is this passage mostly about?
A
B
C
famous African Americans
the life of Rosa Parks
The Tap Dance Kid
6. Read the following sentences: “At the age of 10, he starred in The Tap Dance Kid. The show was on a
Broadway stage in New York City.”
What does the word “starred” most nearly mean?
A
B
C
noted
performed
jumped
1 ®
© 2014 ReadWorks , Inc. All rights reserved.
Teacher Guide & Answers: Great Americans 7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.
Savion Glover is a talented tap dancer, _________ he has won many awards.
A
B
C
but
also
so
8. What did Rosa Parks refuse to give up?
Suggested answer: Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat.
9. How did Rosa Parks help change a law that was unfair to African Americans?
Suggested answer: Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white person. Other people heard this
story and refused to ride the buses. As a result, the unfair law was changed.
10. Explain why African American author Nikki Giovanni wrote a children’s book called Rosa about Rosa
Parks.
Suggested answer: Nikki Giovanni wrote a children’s book about Rosa Parks because Rosa Parks worked
hard for equal rights for African Americans, and Nikki was probably inspired by Rosa. At the time, there
was an unfair law that said African Americans had to sit in the back of city buses. In 1955, Rosa Parks
refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to a white person. When people heard her
story, they refused to ride the buses in Montgomery. As a result, the law was changed.
2 ®
© 2014 ReadWorks , Inc. All rights reserved.